Heat-shrinkable marker tubing is used in various assemblies and configurations. In exemplary applications, printed marker tubing sections are applied to wires, substrates and other objects and heat-shrinkable for marking the objects.
It is desirable from a processing and inventory standpoint to print identifying indicia on both the marker tubing and the carrier. Typically separate printing processes are required to effect printing on both the marker tubing and a carrier due to the orientation of the marker tubing stock on the carrier and due to the necessarily non-planar configuration of the marker tubing stock mounted on the carrier. As a consequence, typical printing assemblies either require multiple print heads or multiple passes through a single print head.
It is also desirable to enable the marker tubing stock to be severed in varying widths while being maintained on the carrier. In this manner, varying lengths of marker tubing sections can he configured for customized applications.
Typically, tubing sections are pre-cut and mounted to a carrier such that longitudinal axes aligned perpendicular with a carrier longitudinal axis, and customizing lengths of the tubing sections is thus not possible. Moreover, conventional marker tubing stock and carrier arrangements are not easily separable into individual sections.